Toy top

ABSTRACT

A toy top capable of continuing to spin without its spinning being abruptly stopped by contacting a playing surface when the toy top wobbles with a reduction in rotational speed so as to spin longer than an opponent toy top. A toy top includes a shaft portion having a circular shape in cross-section and adapted to come into contact with a playing surface of the playing board for serving as a center of rotation when the toy top spins; a rotating plate having an insertion hole of an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the shaft portion, the rotating plate being attached to the shaft portion so as to freely rotate around the shaft portion while the shaft portion is inserted through the insertion hole; and an engagement for permitting the rotating plate to freely rotate and preventing the rotating plate from detaching from the shaft portion when the rotating plate is attached to the shaft portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 119 of Japanese Utility Model Application No. 2010-2596, entitled TOY TOP, filed Apr. 19, 2010 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a toy top and, more particularly, to a toy top with a function of continuing to spin at a reduced rotational speed.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a toy top capable of readily changing an operation mode by rearranging component members was proposed by the assignee of the present application (refer to, for example, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3149383) and has been in practical use. This toy top is configured by layering an upper layer member with a function of attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer member that determines the height of the toy top, and a lower layer member that determines a movement mode of the toy top on a playing board. A number of lower layer members having an inverted truncated-cone shape are prepared with shaft portions having different shapes formed to protrude downward. By the replacement of one of the lower layer members with another one with a shaft portion having a shape different from that of the former one, the operation mode on the playing board can be changed.

In this conventional toy top, although the operation mode on the playing board can be changed by replacing the lower layer member, the toy top begins to wobble with a reduction in rotational speed and the upper layer member comes into contact with a playing surface of the playing board, leading to a problem that its spinning may stop earlier than that of an opponent toy top while playing a match therewith.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the abovementioned problem. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel toy top capable of continuing to spin without spinning being abruptly stopped by contacting of an upper layer section with a playing surface when the toy top wobbles with reduction in rotational speed, to thereby spin longer than an opponent toy top.

In order to solve the abovementioned problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a toy top which is spun on a playing board to play therewith. The toy top includes: a shaft portion having a circular shape in cross-section and adapted to come into contact with a playing surface of the playing board for serving as a center of rotation when the toy top spins; a rotating plate having an insertion hole of an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the shaft portion, the rotating plate being attached to the shaft portion so as to freely rotate around the shaft portion while the shaft portion is inserted through the insertion hole; and an engagement means for permitting the rotating plate to freely rotate and preventing the rotating plate from detaching from the shaft portion when the rotating plate is attached to the shaft portion.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the insertion hole is disposed in the center of the rotating plate, and the rotating plate is formed in an inverted truncated-conical shape having the insertion hole located at the center thereof.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the engagement means includes an engaging projection provided on an outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion and an engaging edge portion formed around the insertion hole on a lower side of the rotating plate.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotating plate includes a cylindrical wall which is formed around an edge of the insertion hole on an upper surface thereof so as to protrude upward, and the wall has an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the shaft portion and has a height smaller than a length of the shaft portion to permit the rotating plate to tilt with respect to the shaft portion, the rotating plate and the shaft portion being in a point contact with each other when the rotating plate tilts.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wall has cutouts formed therein so as to flex outward when the shaft portion is inserted through the insertion hole of the rotating plate.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the toy top further includes an upper layer section having a function of attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section.

According to the present invention, when the rotational speed of the toy top decreases, the rotating plate first comes into contact with a playing surface of the playing board and supports a main body of the toy top in a short time to delay contacting of the main body of the toy top with the playing surface. Therefore, a toy top can be realized which does not stop spinning at once when the rotational speed decreases and which thus has an advantage in a competition with an opponent toy top.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a front view illustrating an embodiment of a toy top according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the toy top shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIGS. 3A to 3D are a perspective view, a plan view, a front view and a bottom view showing a first attacking member of an upper layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 4A to 4D are a perspective view, a plan view, a front view and a bottom view showing a second attacking member of the upper layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a perspective view as viewed from above and a front view, showing a middle layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are an exploded perspective view and a perspective view each as viewed from below, illustrating a lower layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a perspective view as viewed from above and as viewed from below, respectively, showing a rotating plate incorporated in the lower layer section;

FIGS. 8A to 8C are front views illustrating the relation between a shaft portion of the lower layer section and the rotating plate, the rotating plate being depicted in section, and FIGS. 8D and 8E are enlarged views of encircled parts 8D and 8E in FIG. 8C;

FIGS. 9A to 9D are front views illustrating the process of assembling the toy top; and

FIG. 10A is a diagram depicting an operating state of the toy top of the present invention on a playing board and FIG. 10B is an enlarged view of an encircled part 10B in FIG. 10A, and FIG. 10C is a diagram depicting an operating state of a conventional toy top on a playing board.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of a toy top according to the present invention. The toy top A includes an upper layer section 1 which has a function of attacking an opponent toy top and which is constituted by a first attacking member 10 and a second attacking member 20, a middle layer section 2 determining the height of the toy top, a lower layer section 3 having a shaft portion 41 adapted to come into contact with a playing surface of a playing board, and a coupling member 4 in a screw shape coupling together the upper layer section 1 and middle layer section 2 (see FIG. 2).

The first attacking member 10 is, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, a disk-like member made of, e.g., synthetic resin and having a fitting hole portion 11 formed in the center thereof in which a fitting portion 22 of the second attacking member 20 described later is fitted. On diametrically opposite sides of the fitting hole portion 11 is formed a pair of engagement recesses 11 a for engaging a bridge 22 a to perform positioning when the fitting hole portion 11 is fitted on the fitting portion 22 of the second attacking member 20. Further, the first attacking member 10 is formed to have an outer diameter smaller than that of the second attacking member 20, and around a peripheral edge of an upper surface of the first attacking member 10 are formed attacking portions 12 constituted by rugged parts protruding upward with a vertical attacking function of attacking from below in contact with a lower surface of the opponent toy top. The first attacking member 10 is also provided on a lower surface thereof with a pair of semi-circular engagement walls 14 which are symmetrically formed at the outside of the fitting hole portion 11 so as to fit in an inner peripheral surface of the second attacking member 20, to thereby stably hold the first attacking member 10 on the second attacking member 20.

The second attacking member 20 is, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D, e.g., a metallic disk-like member having a hexagonal fitting hole portion 21 formed in the center thereof in which an upper portion of the middle layer section 2 is fitted, the fitting portion 22 being formed above the fitting hole portion 21. The fitting hole portion 22 includes the bridge 22 a formed in a diametrical direction and a swelling portion 22 b formed in a circular shape in the center of the bridge 22 a to bulge out, and an opening 24 into which a screw portion 4 a of the coupling member 4 is inserted is formed in the center of the swelling portion 22 b. Further, attacking portions 25 constituted by rugged parts protruding outward with a lateral attacking function of attacking in contact with a side surface of the opponent toy top are formed in an outward-projecting manner on an outer peripheral surface of the second attacking member 20.

The middle layer section 2 is, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, formed in a cylindrical shape and has an inner wall surface formed with a thread 31 to configure a screw hole 32 into which the screw portion 4 a of the coupling member 4 described later is screwed. Further, an upper outer perimeter surface of the middle layer section 2 swells outward to form a swelling portion 33 of an approximately hexagonal shape, which is fitted in the fitting hole portion 21 of the second attacking member 20 to prevent a deviation in a circumferential direction from occurring at the time of joining.

The middle layer section 2 is also provided on a lower end outside surface of a cylindrical portion 34 thereof with a pair of engaging protrusions 36 that are formed so as to respectively engage with a pair of engagement receiving portions 43 formed on the lower layer section 3 described later.

The lower layer section 3 is, as shown in FIG. 6A, formed in an inverted truncated-cone shape and has a shaft portion 41 of a circular shape in a horizontal cross-section that is formed on a lower side thereof so as to serve as a center of rotation at the time of spinning the toy top A. The shaft portion 41 has a rotating plate 5 mounted thereon which is attached so as to freely rotate around the shaft portion 41 as shown in FIG. 6B.

A pair of arcuate openings 42 is formed point-symmetrically with respect to an axis of the shaft portion 41 outside the shaft portion 41, and part of an inner wall of each opening 42 is protruded toward the shaft portion 41 to form the engagement receiving portion 43. Thus, when the lower layer section 3 is fitted from below onto the middle layer section 2 and is then turned in a circumferential direction, the engaging protrusions 36 of the middle layer section 2 engage the respective engagement receiving portions 43 of the lower layer section 3, so that the lower layer section 3 can be fixed on the middle layer section 2.

Further, the shaft portion 41 of the lower layer section 3 has a pair of engaging projections 44 which are formed on a distal end thereof so as to protrude diametrically outward as a first element of engagement means described later. These engaging projections 44 are arranged so as to engage with an engaging edge portion 53 of a circular insertion hole 51 formed in the center of the rotating plate 5 so that the rotating plate 5 may not detach from the shaft portion 41 when the shaft portion 41 is inserted through the insertion hole 51 of the rotating plate 5. Thus, the engaging edge portion 53 of the rotating plate 5 serves as a second element of the engagement means described later.

The rotating plate 5 is formed in such an approximately truncated-conical shape that a conical portion thereof is inclined upward from the center toward an outer periphery thereof as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The rotating plate 5 has the insertion hole 51 formed in the center which has a diameter slightly greater than an outer diameter of the shaft portion 41 of the lower layer section 3 and includes a cylindrical wall 52 which is formed around the edge of the insertion hole 51 on an upper surface thereof so as to protrude upward. The cylindrical wall 52 has a pair of cutouts 54 formed therein so as to flex outward when the shaft portion 41 of the lower layer section 3 is inserted through the insertion hole 51, to thereby facilitate insertion of the shaft portion 41.

The insertion hole 51 is, as shown in FIG. 7B, formed to have, on a lower side, a diameter greater than that thereof on an upper side so as to form the engaging edge portion 53 which constitutes the second element of the engagement means for preventing the rotating plate 5 from detaching from the shaft portion 41 after the rotating plate 5 is attached to the shaft portion 41 once.

The wall 52 of the rotating plate 5 has an inner diameter W1 slightly greater than the outer diameter W2 of the shaft portion 41 and has a height L1 smaller than a length L2 of the shaft portion 41 as shown in FIG. 8A, so that the rotating plate 5 attached to the shaft portion 41 can freely rotate while the engaging edge portion 53 thereof is engaged with the engaging projections 44 of the shaft portion 41 as shown in FIG. 8B, and so that the rotating plate 5 can tilt with respect to the shaft portion 41. Such construction enables the rotating plate 5, when the rotating plate 5 tilts, to come into a point contact with the shaft portion 41 as shown in FIGS. 8C to 8E rather than to come into a surface contact, so that frictional resistance between the rotating plate 5 and the shaft portion 41 can be minimized.

When the toy top A having the above-described configuration is assembled, the first and second attacking members 10 and 20 for the upper layer section 1, the middle layer section 2 and the lower layer section are firstly selected as shown in FIG. 9A. Thereafter, the first attacking member 10 is fitted onto the second attacking member 20 from above, and then the middle layer section 2 is fitted into the second attacking member 20 from below as shown in FIG. 9B.

Next, the screw portion 4 a of the coupling member 4 is inserted through the opening 24 of the second attacking member 20 and is screwed into the screw hole 32 of the middle layer section 2, so that the upper layer section 1 with the first attacking member 10 stacked on the second attacking member 20 is fixed on the middle layer section 2 as shown in FIG. 9C. In this state, the first attacking member 10 is brought into pressure contact with the second attacking member 20 and the second attacking member 20 is brought into pressure contact with the middle layer section 2 by the coupling member 4, so that the upper layer section 1 and the middle layer section 2 are fixed to each other without causing backlash.

Then, the engaging protrusions 36 formed on the cylindrical portion 34 of the middle layer section 2 are opposed to and inserted into the openings 42 of the lower layer section 3, and the lower layer section 3 is turned in a circumferential direction relative to the middle layer section 2 to engage the engaging protrusions 36 with the bottom sides of the engagement receiving portions 43, whereby the toy top A constituted by the upper layer section 1, the middle layer section 2 and the lower layer section 3 can be assembled, as shown in FIG. 9D.

When the toy top A thus assembled is launched by a starter (not shown) so as to rotate or spin at high speed onto a playing surface b of a playing board B (see FIG. 10A), the toy top A rotating at high speed spins upright about the shaft portion 41 due to a gyroscopic effect and moves (revolves) around on the playing surface b while spinning so as to compete against an opponent toy top (not shown) on the playing board B. As the rotational speed of the toy top A decreases, the toy top A can no longer maintain the upright attitude and spins while wobbling.

In the case of a conventional toy top, when the conventional toy top A′ is launched by a starter (not shown) so as to spin at high speed onto a playing surface b of a playing board B and spins at high speed, the toy top A′ moves around while spinning upright on the playing surface b, whereas when the rotational speed of the toy top A′ decreases, the toy top A can not maintain its upright attitude and spins while wobbling, as shown in FIG. 10C. When the wobbling starts to occur, the toy top A′ is brought into a state where an upper layer section 1′, of which the diameter is the greatest in the toy top, comes into contact with the playing surface b, resulting in the rotational speed of the toy top A′ being abruptly reduced and the spinning of the toy top A′ stops.

In contrast, in the toy top A of the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the rotating plate 5 comes into contact with the playing surface b and the shaft portion 41 of the toy top A is supported by the wall 52 of the rotating plate 5, to thereby restrict the tilting of the shaft portion 41, so that the toy top A can continue to spin without the upper layer section 1, of which the diameter is the greatest in the toy top, A coming into contact with the playing surface b. However, the rotational speed of the toy top A further decreases such that the rotating plate 5 can no longer support the toy top A, resulting in the upper layer section 1 coming into contact with the playing surface b and thus the spinning of the toy top A finally stops.

As described above, when the toy top A is rotated or spun at high speed and launched onto an inclined portion of the playing surface b of the playing board B, the toy top A maintains its upright attitude during spinning at high speed and then begins to wobble with the reduction in rotational speed. At this time, the rotating plate 5 first comes into contact with the playing surface b, before the upper layer section 1 does, so that the rotating plate 5 supports the toy top A and thus contacting of the upper layer section 1 with the playing surface b can be retarded. Therefore, the toy top A can continue to spin much longer than the opponent toy top.

In addition, in the state where the rotating plate 5 supports the toy top A, the wall 52 of the rotating plate 5 and the shaft portion 41 of the lower layer section 3 are in a point contact with each other rather than in a surface contact, so that the frictional resistance can be minimized. Thus, according to the present invention, a toy top capable of lengthening the period of time for spinning can be realized even though it has a simple structure in which a rotating plate of a truncated-cone shape is merely attached to a shaft portion of the toy top. 

1. A toy top which is spun on a playing board to play therewith, comprising: a shaft portion having a circular shape in cross-section and adapted to come into contact with a playing surface of the playing board for serving as a center of rotation when the toy top spins; a rotating plate having an insertion hole of an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the shaft portion, the rotating plate being attached to the shaft portion so as to freely rotate around the shaft portion while the shaft portion is inserted through the insertion hole; and an engagement means for permitting the rotating plate to freely rotate and preventing the rotating plate from detaching from the shaft portion when the rotating plate is attached to the shaft portion.
 2. The toy top according to claim 1, wherein the insertion hole is disposed in the center of the rotating plate, and the rotating plate is formed in an inverted truncated-conical shape having the insertion hole located at the center thereof.
 3. The toy top according to claim 1, wherein the engagement means comprises an engaging projection provided on an outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion and an engaging edge portion formed around the insertion hole on a lower side of the rotating plate.
 4. The toy top according to claim 2, wherein the engagement means comprises an engaging projection provided on an outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion and an engaging edge portion formed around the insertion hole on a lower side of the rotating plate.
 5. The toy top according to claim 3, wherein the rotating plate includes a cylindrical wall which is formed around an edge of the insertion hole on an upper surface thereof so as to protrude upward, and the wall has an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the shaft portion and has a height smaller than a length of the shaft portion to permit the rotating plate to tilt with respect to the shaft portion, the rotating plate and the shaft portion being in a point contact with each other when the rotating plate tilts.
 6. The toy top according to claim 4, wherein the rotating plate includes a cylindrical wall which is formed around an edge of the insertion hole on an upper surface thereof so as to protrude upward, and the wall has an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the shaft portion and has a height smaller than a length of the shaft portion to permit the rotating plate to tilt with respect to the shaft portion, the rotating plate and the shaft portion being in a point contact with each other when the rotating plate tilts.
 7. The toy top according to claim 5, wherein the wall has cutouts formed therein so as to flex outward when the shaft portion is inserted through the insertion hole of the rotating plate.
 8. The toy top according to claim 6, wherein the wall has cutouts formed therein so as to flex outward when the shaft potion is inserted through the insertion hole of the rotating plate.
 9. The toy top according to claim 1, further comprising an upper layer section having a function of attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section.
 10. The toy top according to claim 2, further comprising an upper layer section having a function of attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section.
 11. The toy top according to claim 3, further comprising an upper layer section having a function of attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section.
 12. The toy top according to claim 5, further comprising an upper layer section having a function of attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section.
 13. The toy top according to claim 7, further comprising an upper layer section having a function of attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section.
 14. A toy top for a board game, comprising: a shaft portion having a circular shape in cross-section and adapted to come into contact with a playing surface of the board for serving as a center of rotation when the toy top spins; a rotating plate attached to the shaft portion so as to freely rotate around the shaft portion; and an engagement for permitting the rotating plate to freely rotate relative to the shaft portion and preventing the rotating plate from detaching from the shaft portion.
 15. The toy top according to claim 14, wherein the rotating plate is formed in an inverted truncated-conical shape having an insertion hole located at the center of the plate for receiving the shaft portion.
 16. The toy top according to claim 15, wherein the engagement comprises an engaging projection provided on an outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion and an engaging edge portion formed around the insertion hole on a lower side of the rotating plate.
 17. The toy top according to claim 15, wherein the rotating plate includes a cylindrical wall which is formed around an edge of the insertion hole on an upper surface thereof so as to protrude upward, and the wall has an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the shaft portion and has a height smaller than a length of the shaft portion to permit the rotating plate to tilt with respect to the shaft portion, the rotating plate and the shaft portion being in a point contact with each other when the rotating plate tilts.
 18. The toy top according to claim 17, wherein the wall has cutouts formed therein so as to flex outward when the shaft portion is received by the insertion hole of the rotating plate.
 19. The toy top according to claim 14, further comprising an upper layer section for attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section.
 20. A toy top, comprising: a main body; a shaft extending from the main body and serving as a center of rotation when the toy top spins; and a member attached to the shaft so as to freely rotate around the shaft, wherein the member contacts a playing surface before the main body, when the toy top is rotating.
 21. The toy top according to claim 20, further comprising: an engagement for permitting the member to freely rotate and preventing the member from detaching from the shaft when the member is rotating.
 22. The toy top according to claim 20, wherein the member is formed in an inverted truncated-conical shape.
 23. The toy top according to claim 21, wherein the engagement comprises an engaging projection provided on an outer peripheral surface of the shaft and an engaging edge portion formed on a lower side of the member.
 24. The toy top according to claim 20, wherein the member includes a cylindrical wall formed around an edge of a hole, on an upper surface thereof so as to protrude upward, which hole receives the shaft, and the wall has an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the shaft and has a height smaller than a length of the shaft to permit the member to tilt with respect to the shaft, the member and the shaft being in a point contact with each other when the member tilts.
 25. The toy top according to claim 24, wherein the wall has cutouts formed therein so as to flex outward when the shaft is inserted through the hole.
 26. The toy top according to claim 20, wherein the main body comprises: an upper layer section for attacking an opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having the shaft and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section. 